Colleges pander to alcoholic interests

Pick up almost any college handbook and there’s generally going to be a section about alcoholic beverages not being allowed on campus.

The reasons are numerous.

First, institutions of higher education are places of learning, not social clubs. Second, a large percentage of college students are still under the legal drinking age of 21.

There is also study after study that shows the potential for binge drinking among a group that is experimenting with the new-found freedom of life away from home and shedding many restrictions.

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says alcohol is to blame for the deaths of 1,825 college students each year. Drinking is blamed in 690,000 physical attacks and 97,000 sexual assaults of students.

Why, then, would Illinois lawmakers be considering allowing alcohol sales on campus during sporting and other events?

Money.

“We’re not having enough revenue in the state,” said state Rep. John Cabello, the sponsor of the proposal. “Most universities allow tailgating before the sporting event or the event that’s taking place.”

Nationwide, there are still just a handful of colleges and universities that sell alcohol — beer, mostly — at sporting events. In Illinois, that presently includes Northern Illinois University. Other private schools are able to serve things like wine at special functions once they go through the proper licensing channels.

But in the past few years, it’s become a big business for some and that has schools facing austere state funding looking at things differently.

At Troy University in Alabama, for example, athletic director John Hartwell told ESPN that sporting-event beer sales added $200,000 in revenue. For every $5 beer, the school received $2 under a contract with a concessions vendors.

Although the price and usually strict controls on sales inside the sporting venues should erase many of the concerns about responsible drinking, it is outside that becomes the problem. Fans not willing to spend the jacked-up prices tend to congregate in the parking lot before the game, tailgating with their own cheaper and much-less-regulated alcohol.

Some colleges have reported few increased alcohol-related incidents since selling beer at games, while others have found their profits quickly erased by the need to pay for increase security.

More than that, it’s about the mixed message sent to students.

Alcohol is a reality of college life, as is alcohol abuse. We’re realistic enough to realize there will always be drinking on college campus, but also realistic enough to see there is a hypocrisy in allowing revenue to be a reason to condone it.